Hey everyone! Today, I want to share a little discovery I made recently that combines two of my favorite things: gaming and financial literacy. If you haven’t checked out the gaming section on MortgageCalculator.org, you’re seriously missing out! While the site is primarily known for money and finance tools, their collection of online games is both entertaining and educational.
I spent some time diving into their diverse game categories and found a few that I really enjoyed. Here are my top picks:
1. Cash Back
Let’s start with Cash Back, a game where you get to play cashier and give customers the correct change using bills and coins. It’s pretty straightforward:
- You can choose to watch a tutorial or jump straight into the game.
- There are settings to adjust the difficulty level, whether you want hints, and if you want to show the change amount.
- The challenge is to select the bills and coins needed to match the customer’s change amount exactly.
- Tap on the “Give Change” button to submit your answer.
- Keep going until you run out of time, trying to answer as many questions correctly as you can.
The cool thing is, there are various ways to make the correct change, so it really tests your mental math skills. I found it surprisingly addictive!
2. Grocery Cashier
Next up is Grocery Cashier, a perfect game for younger kids (or anyone wanting to brush up on their basic math) to practice addition and subtraction while handling a virtual cash register. Here’s what makes it fun:
- Each customer you serve represents a new level, with the difficulty increasing as you progress.
- You enter the cost of each item as it comes down the conveyor belt and then tap the plus button.
- Payments are entered by clicking on the cashier buttons, and there’s a clear button to correct any mistakes.
- You don’t need to enter anything after the decimal for whole dollar amounts, which simplifies things a bit.
- After totaling all the items, you handle payments. If a customer pays with a gift certificate, you enter the amount and click the minus sign. If they pay with cash, you enter the amount and then select the bills and coins to give them their change.
It’s a fun way to practice quick math and get a feel for money handling.
3. Coffee Shop
Lastly, let’s talk about Coffee Shop, a one-month simulation game where you manage your own coffee stand. This game is all about strategy and decision-making:
- You manage your inventory, budget your cash flow, set pricing, and tweak your coffee formula to maximize earnings.
- The demand for coffee varies with the weather—higher in cold weather and lower in warm weather.
What I love about this game is that it teaches several important aspects of running a business, like:
- Inventory Management: Buy ingredients in bulk to save money but watch out for spoilage.
- Strategic Planning: Adjust your coffee formula to manage ingredient usage and cost per cup.
- Pricing Strategy: Adjust prices to either boost sales volume or sell off inventory before it spoils.
- Demand Prediction: Use the weather as an indicator for shifts in consumer demand.
- Customer Feedback: Pay attention to customer feedback to fine-tune your strategy.
The game might not cover long-term business consistency, but it’s packed with day-to-day decision-making challenges that keep it fun and engaging.
Why These Games Matter
These games are not just fun; they’re subtly educational, teaching valuable lessons in financial literacy, business management, and mathematics. They’re perfect for both kids and adults who want to learn while having fun.
Expanding the Horizons
While exploring, I also thought of a few genres that could be great additions, like games focusing on investment strategies or more in-depth business simulations. MortgageCalculator.org already offers a fantastic variety, but expanding the collection could make it even better.
Final Thoughts
If you enjoy games that offer more than just mindless entertainment, I highly recommend giving these a try. They’re a great way to relax and learn valuable skills at the same time.
Check out these games on MortgageCalculator.org and let me know which ones are your favorites!
Share the Fun
I’ll be sharing this post on my social media channels, so make sure to follow along and share your gaming experiences too. Let’s spread the word about these hidden gems and enjoy some educational gaming together!